Listening to her daughter's heartfelt words, the pregnant Lady Hou went on a killing spree.

Seeing Ji Yueru's expression, as if she wished the people of the Marquis of Wuwei's mansion would cause more trouble for Marquis Anshun, Madam Feng couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle.

"Lady Hou is indeed extraordinary."

"People always learn their lesson after suffering a lot of losses."

By the way, I wonder if Madam Feng and Miss Feng will be attending the palace banquet in two days?

"The palace did send an invitation, so I must go."

"That's perfect, we'll go together then."

Madam Feng did not refuse.

"Alright, we'll come to the Marquis's residence to pick you up then, and we'll go to the palace together."

"That would be perfect."

"I have two admission notices for Wanshan Academy here. Madam, please keep them safe. If you have any suitable children in your family, you can take these admission notices to Wanshan Academy to register."

Naturally, only those who pass the entrance exam will be accepted by the academy.

Zhiyi took the admission notice and handed it to his wife.

She doesn't need it now, but she won't refuse the admission letter from Wangshan Academy, which is something that all the aristocratic families in the capital are fighting tooth and nail for.

Nowadays, an admission notice is worth its weight in gold, since only with an admission notice can one participate in the student assessment of Wangshan Academy.

As the largest academy in the Ming Dynasty, Wangshan Academy's first headmaster once said that a student's character is more important than his knowledge.

To participate in the examination of Wangshan Academy, the first step is to obtain the admission notice of Wangshan Academy.

Although Wangshan Academy is an academy, it supports a whole system.

Strictly speaking, it was not much different from the Dali Temple of the Ming Dynasty. These people traveled around to investigate students who were excellent in both character and academics.

They practically investigated everything about them from birth to the present, and once they deemed the person to be of good character, they would receive an admission letter from Wangshan Academy.

Only with this certificate can one enter Wangshan Academy for the pre-enrollment examination, which is even more rigorous than the imperial examination.

But once you pass the first test of character and then the entrance exam for Wangshan Academy, it's no exaggeration to say that you've achieved a remarkable leap forward.

The low tuition fees and excellent treatment of students at Wangshan Academy are widely recognized throughout the Ming Dynasty.

After all, the imperial court allocates special funds to Wangshan Academy every year, and many upright families also donate money to Wangshan Academy. Most of this money is used for students and the repair of the academy.

Among the officials serving in the Ming Dynasty, students from Wangshan Academy accounted for almost half, making it a place that cultivated talent for the Ming court.

The enticing conditions alone are enough to make people desperately want to get in.

Madam Feng has now given her two admission notices, which is tantamount to handing over the assessment of two students to her.

"Don't worry, Madam Feng, the person I can give the admission letter to is absolutely of good character."

With An'an around, Ji Yue Ru wasn't worried at all.

[Mother, Mother, please save this for me. I'll bring my best friend to study at Wangshan Academy later.]

Ji Yueru knew that Wangshan Academy did not accept girls, but she did not discourage An'an. What if Wangshan Academy changed its rules when An'an grew up?

"Okay, Mommy will save it for you and your best friend."

Unbeknownst to the mother and daughter, years later, Wangshan Academy did indeed change its rules, and the person who made an exception for them was none other than An'an.

The mother and daughter sat for a while longer, but then, remembering that Ji Yueru was pregnant, they decided not to stay any longer and got up to say goodbye.

Ji Yueru escorted the person to the second gate, but Madam Feng refused to let her see them off any further.

"Madam, please don't send us off anymore. Our servants can take us."

They came suddenly today, and I didn't even take a nap, so I'm quite tired now.

For An'an's sake, she now prioritizes her own health and has stopped insisting.

"Alright, take care, you two. Feel free to come visit anytime."

"Yes."

After the two sides said goodbye, Zhiyi escorted the person to the gate of the mansion, while Ji Yueru returned to Qinghe Courtyard for a nap.

Ever since the news spread that Ye Simiao, now Princess Chang'an, was the Emperor's biological daughter, the people of the Cheng'en Marquis's mansion were overjoyed.

Especially the Lady of Chengen Marquis, whose eldest son Chengjue and second son married a princess, is quite good.

The main reason is that Princess Chang'an is currently pregnant. The thought that the Emperor will reward her handsomely out of guilt towards Princess Chang'an, and that the reward will also go to the Marquis of Cheng'en's residence, makes the Marquis's wife excited.

In the past few days, the stewards of the manor have been instructed to carry out a major renovation of the courtyard where Princess Chang'an and her second son used to live, so that when Princess Chang'an returns, she will see an extremely luxurious courtyard.

What she was most grateful for was that in the two years since Princess Chang'an married into the Marquis's family, she, as the mother-in-law, had behaved quite properly and hadn't done anything to make things difficult for her daughter-in-law; otherwise, she wouldn't know how things would have ended up like this.

Almost everyone in the mansion was happy, since the princess marrying into the Chengen Marquis's household would benefit all of them.

The only one who was unhappy was probably Zhao Kuo, because only he knew what he had done.

The thought of Qixia staying at the Prime Minister's residence made him even more uneasy.

I wonder if Qixia will tell the people in the Prime Minister's mansion about their affair and what he did before.

If he really told her, he and Princess Chang'an would probably have no future together.

In an attempt to salvage the situation, Zhao Kuo's greatest wish now is to see Princess Chang'an.

He went to the palace gate several times, but the imperial guards guarding the gate wouldn't let him in or report to them.

He was so anxious that blisters formed around his mouth; he really didn't know what to do.

While Zhao Kuo was anxious, the palace banquet hosted by the empress arrived.

This palace banquet didn't have a specific theme, but everyone knew perfectly well that it was meant to allow everyone to get to know Princess Chang'an again.

Although the banquet was held in the name of the Empress, the lineup was no less than that of the palace banquet on New Year's Eve, with most families attending together.

After all, the emperor would also be attending this banquet, and it wouldn't be appropriate to have the emperor sitting among a bunch of women; that would be disrespectful.

On the day of the banquet, a major event also occurred: Prince Shun, who had been sent to Dajue Temple to practice Buddhism with his hair intact since childhood, returned to the palace and happened to be there for the banquet.

There's been a lot of speculation about this, but nobody knows the real reason.

The banquet lasted from noon until evening, and those attending the palace banquet started heading to the palace gates one after another after breakfast.

After all, the entire process of all the ministers and their families going from the palace gate to the banquet hall takes at least two hours, just in time for the midday banquet to begin.

Therefore, attending palace banquets is a tiring task, and she would not have gone if the palace servants hadn't insisted that she attend.

Currently, only Ji Yueru is able to attend the palace banquet at the Marquis of Anshun's residence, as the old lady is partially paralyzed and unable to attend.

Lin Yuxue's reputation is ruined after being caught cheating; attending a banquet in the palace would only bring her shame.

As for the two children, she had no intention of taking them along and didn't even notify them.

Not long after Ji Yueru finished eating breakfast, the Feng family's carriage arrived at the Marquis's mansion.

"Madam, Madam Feng and Miss Feng have arrived."

"Okay, let's go."

After exchanging greetings at the entrance, the two carriages headed towards the palace gate, occasionally encountering carriages from various mansions along the way.

Upon arriving at the palace gate and disembarking from the carriage, Ji Yueru joined the line of women entering the palace alongside the Feng family mother and daughter.

The eunuch who had been waiting at the door came running over when he saw him.